[What does hand flex mean, question?] Rocky asks from where we're huddled together on the floor, watching the 2005 adaption of Pride & Prejudice. Well he's huddled, pressed into my side, one arm under my pillow, two more slung over my hip, still in his pajamas. I'm stretched out trying to somewhat distribute myself away from his heat, though with my hands still idly moving over his carapace I'm doing a bit of a poor job at that. "It's uh—" I hit pause, search for the right word. "Have we had yearning in the vocab yet? Missing someone or something so much it hurts. You can yearn for a place, like the house you grew up in, or for something more abstract like uhm— freedom, or happiness or something. Or rather— here it's wanting to be with someone so much it hurts. Like you love them so much it's painful when you can't be together." Rocky straightens up in alarm. [Humans in danger when away from mate, question? Why not tell Rocky, question?]

dog days

[read on ao3]

ship: grace/rocky

words: 14,789, completed

tags: post-movie, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, codependent relationship, nuclear grade yearning, miscommunication but only in the sense that grace's inherent self doubt is making him delusional, rocky is VERY clear about his intentions, fellas is it cheating if you merge your soul with your alien bff who also technically has a mate (It's not), the concept of being a middle aged man trapped in a fishbowl light-years from earth haunted by ur own narrative, demisexual ryland grace, mention of childhood neglect, first person grace pov, epistolary elements, not beta read we die like the sun